TRAINING THE NEXT GEN OF OFFICIALS

by Krista Norton | November 21, 2024

The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) announced Scott Goodheart of Pratt, Kansas became the Director of Officials. Goodheart serves in the role that Francine Martin fulfilled during the 2022-23 school year, the first year for this position at the KSHSAA.   

Goodheart has been an active registered official with  KSHSAA for 17 years, working in the sports of volleyball, softball and basketball. Since 2016, Goodheart has held the role of league commissioner for the Heart of the Plains League. Now students in high school have an opportunity to be a part of the game by becoming an official thanks to the KSHSAA RefReps platform.  

According to high school teacher Jeff Mathias, there has been a growing referee shortage in the state and many high schools have attempted to identify a new generation of referees through classes such as this one. 

He explains the goal of the class is to give students who love sports an opportunity to gain an instantly employable life skill that is currently in high-demand across the country.

At this time, there are nine students enrolled in the class. “Using the RefReps platform, the students are quizzed on the rules of the sports they are covering,” said Mathias. “I try to supplement the information with the technical side of reffing/umpiring.”

He said, so far, students have focused on volleyball, football, and currently basketball. “They prepare to officiate games, but also learn skills such as bookkeeping, clock management, line judging, and libero-tracking to name a few.” 

“Students who are taking the course work mainly junior high contests in positions of need and are paid as any other individual would be. The students have really taken to the material and enjoy being a part of game administration,” said Mathias. 

Denise Alcantar thinks it is a great opportunity to learn something new and some of the skills can also be used for the future such as reffing for bigger and older leagues. “I do really enjoy it because I am able to ref for the sports I love playing and I can see it from a different perspective.”

Volleyball official, Amy Brucker, worked with several of the students during the volleyball season and had individuals praise them for a job well done. “They did not realize they were high school students and during the junior high tournaments, some of them worked the entire day.” 

She added, “Some of the students who were not quite ready to step into the official role were line judges or worked the table. Because it takes a lot to run volleyball matches, the kids are very teachable.” 

photo- Jeff Mathias with RefReps Jesmar Molina, Sophie Gould, Denise Alcantar, Sammy Schwieterman, AJ Rivas, and Calvin Housholder/photo by Krista Norton